Rotating liquid whistle



Oct. 3, 1967 E. c. COTTELL 3,

ROTATING LIQUID WHISTLE Filed on. 18, 1965 III INVENTOR. ERIC 0. carrsu.

I 1, u I I I T i A Z'TUR/VEY United States Patent 3,344,766 ROTATING LIQUID WHISTLE Eric C. Cottell, Crystal Springs, St. James, Barbados, West Indies Filed Oct. 18, 1965, Ser. No. 497,427 3 Claims. (Cl. 116-137) This invention relates to improved liquid whistles or sirens and more particularly to liquid whistles in which the sonic energy for a given pressure of liquid is greatly increased. This application is a continuation in part of my co-pending application Ser. No. 257,984, filed Feb. 12, 1963, and now abandoned.

In the past, liquid whistles, that is to say devices in which a jet of liquid strikes the edge of a blade to produce violent sonic vibrations, have achieved large commercial success. A typical liquid whistle is described in US. Patent 3,176,964, Apr. 6, 1965. They have been used for a number of purposes for example the improvement or breaking of dispersions such as suspensions, emulsions or the like, separation of wood fibers from slurries and other problems where a dispersion is required to be changed in its nature. The liquid whistles of the past have been used with liquids of a very 'widely varying range of viscosities rumning up to as high as peanut butter mixes which have been passed through liquid whistles in order to produce a greater smoothness of the dispersion. In the liquid whistles of the past the sonic energy has been produced by pumping the liquid in at very high pressure through jet orifices so that jets of high velocity strike the blade and set it into the violent vibrations which augment the vibrations produced from the change in direction of the jet. This has presented quite a serious problem where very high sonic energies were required and particularly where the viscosity considerations render high speed jets extremely wasteful of motive power. There are very definite limits to the pressures which can be used with reasonable economy. Pressures as high as 500 p.s.i. have been used but with many liquids media the losses through jet orifices have been serious. As a result power demands have been very high and even if large pump motors are employed the limits of sonic energy produced have often been inadequite for operations.

The present invention, while using the same principle of liquid jet and blade for producing the sonic energy rotates the jet orifices and/ or counter rotates the blades so that the energy produced in the jet by the pressure of the fluid passing therethrough is greatly augmented by the energy of rotation of either the jets alone or a combination of the rotations of jet and blade housings .where the counter rotating modification of the present invention is used. It shouldrbe'noted that the additional energy produced by rotating the jet orifices and/ or blades is less affected by the viscosity or other conditions of the liquid medium which is to be treated in the liquid whistle. This results in an enormous advantage because with liquid media of high viscosity or other characteristics which introduce high losses in the jet orifice the same amount of sonic energy can be produced as with liquids which have lower viscosities or other characteristics which render them more suitable for use in the liquid whistles which have been previously employed. The advantages of the present invention may be taken in either of two ways or in combinations thereof. Thus the range of liquid media which may be treated may be extended beyond those readily handled in the fixed jet-fixed blade form of liquid whistle which was used hitherto. Alternately, with a given medium and a given power a greater sonic energy can be produced. Of course combinations which both extend the practical range and increase the sonic energy per unit power input are possible and in every case the present invention will be utilized in a form which gives a maximum of improvement in any particular operation.

The invention will be described in greater detail in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an explolded pictorial view of the moving parts of a drum type instrument, and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary illustration of the elements of a. turbine type instrument moving relatively in opposite directions.

In describing the specific embodiments of the present invention represented in the drawings, it should be understood that the present invention can and will utilize constructional features which have been employed with stationary jets and blades in the past. Thus for example, the blade and jet mountings can be made adjustable for accurate adjustment of jet-to-blade distance which is an important factor, the jet orifice can be formed in a curved shape to produce as nearly rectangular a ribbon jet as possible and the like. The unsupported length of the blade may also be varied to change its natural frequency. It is also possible to utilize variations of down stream pressure which have been employed with fixed jets though such a modification is less vital to the present invention. As the details of these well known structural features are not changed by the present invention, they will not be illustrated in the drawings except for the downstream pressure variation which is shown in FIG. 1. It should be understood however that in an actual machine the best construction is utilized.

FIG. 1 shows a hollow shaft 1 adapted to be connected to a source of liquid medium under pressure. The shaft is driven by a pulley and belt 2 and extends through a suitable stuffing box 3 in a housing 4. The shaft carries four jet orifices 5 and is surrounded by a framework 6 carrying an end plate 6' and blades 7. The end plate 6' of framework is attached to and rotated by a shaft 8 passing through a housing end plate, the rotation being in theopposite direction to that of shaft 1 as is shown by the curved arrow. The plate 9 and housing 4 are provided with aligned holes 15 and are fastened together conventionally by bolts; however, as FIG. 1 is an exploded View, the bolts are not shown as they would obscure the drawing and are conventional attaching elements. The shaft 8 is rotated in the direction shown by the curved arrow by any conventional means, such as pulley, motors, and the like. The direction of rotation of the framework 6, which is attached to the shaft 8, is of course the same and is shown by the curved arrow adjacent to this element in FIG. 1. Driving means for shaft 8 is not shown as the exact construction forms no part of the present invention and any suitable conventional driving means may be used.

In operation liquid under pressure is introduced through shaft 1 and emerges in the form of ribbon jets from the jet orifices 5. Because these orifices are rotating the speed of the ribbon jets is increased by the rotational speed of the orifices. The high speed ribbon jets strike the blades 7 which are rotating in the opposite direction and the speed of impact of the jets with the blades is, therefore, the sum of .the jet speed, the rotation of the orifices 5 and the rotation of the framework 6. Very high impact speeds are thus encountered when the jets strike the blades without requiring excessive pressure on the liquid. The violent cavitation is the same as in fixed jet whistles used in the past, as is described above, but the high degree of sonic energy produced is obtained with a much lower liquid pressure.

After striking the blades 7 the liquid flows out through the peripheral discharge 9 and the downstream pressure can be varied by the butterfiy throttle valve 10. This downstream variation to eliminate vacuum close to the jets performs the same function as in a fixed-jet whistle.

3 The direction of flow is a peripheral discharge rather than an axial but the function is the same.

An example of a typical whistle has a jet blade rotor diameter of 8.9" with the edge of the blades in the framework on a 9" radius. The framework holds twenty blades and the rotor four jets. The framework and rotor are driven counter to each other at 1500 r.p.rn. The velocity of collision of the fluid jets against the blades due to the rotation of rotor and stator is in the region of 110 ft./ sec. This is in addition to the velocity of the jet due to the pump pressure on the liquid passing through. The net velocity of the jet and blades at time of collision is many times greater than that obtained with a fixed jet whistle operated with the same pump pressure and using the same medium. It should be noted that there are 4000 collisions per sec. between jets and blades or 1000 collisions in the case of each jet. Thus the natural frequency of the vibration of the blade may be either 4000 or 1000 cycles or a multiple in order to produce best resonant conditions. The choice of natural frequency to increase sonic energy by resonance phenomenon is the same in the present invention as in a fixed jet-fixed blade Whistle used in the past. This is an advantage as it simplifies design calculations.

FIG. 2 illustrates the rotating members of a slightly different modification. The shafts 1 and 8, which perform the same function, bear the same reference numerals, but instead of jet orifices and a framework with blades there are inclined jet orifices 11 and blades 12 in a solid rotor 13. The positioning of the two elements is somewhat similar to the mounting of blades in a shrouded turbine,.the blades being of course inclined so that the jets strike their edges. The rotor 14 carrying the jet orifices 11 is rapidly rotated in one direction and the rotor 13 in the opposite direction, as is shown by the arrows. The modification permits very high rotational speeds as the static and dynamic balance of the elements is excellent. The jets are shown as rotating but they may be fixed which requires somewhat higher rotor speed to obtain the same sonic energy. Fixed jets however somewhat simplify the construction.

The drawings show two typical variations or modifications of the present invention which have advantages and disadvantages. The best form should be chosen in conjunction with the requirements of the particular liquid media which are to be treated. In each case, of course, rotation is chosen so that the frequency of jet-blade collision is a multiple of natural blade resonance frequency in the vibrational mode chosen.

I claim:

1. A liquid whistle of the jet-blade type comprising in combination:

(a) a disc shaped element having a central axial opening, at least one opening in its periphery shaped to form a jet orifice when liquid is forced therethrough and oriented so that the opening can produce a jet at right angles to the axis of the disc, the element having internal conduits from the axial opening to each opening forming a jet orifice,

(b) means for connecting the axial opening of the element to a source of liquid medium under pressure,

and

(c) a second element rotatable about the axis of the disc shaped element and adjacent thereto, said second element having a plurality of blades forming a rigidly connected whole therewith, the edges of the blades being radially aligned with the opening of the first element and positioned so that on rotation the edges of said blades move through jets produced from the openings of the first element in a direction counter to the jets from the openings in the first element whereby the velocity of jet blade collision is increased over jet velocity, and

((1) means for rotating said second element in a direction to move the blade edges counter to the motion of jets produced from the orifices of the first element.

2. A liquid whistle according to claim 1 in which the opening in the first element is dimensioned to produce a ribbon jet when liquid flows therethrough.

3. A liquid whistle according to claim 1 in which the disc shaped first element is mounted on a hollow shaft communicating with its central axial opening, said hollow shaft constituting the means of connecting the axial opening with a source of liquid medium under pressure, for rotating the hollow shaft and the disc shaped element counter to the direction of rotation of the second element carrying the blades.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 476,217 5/ 1892 Rubenstein 116-1 12 869,941 11/ 1907 Stewart 116147 1,324,784 12/1919 Barr 116147 2,575,682 11/1951 Price 35.6 2,664,850 1/1954 Smith 116137 2,713,998 7/ 1955 Henrieicken 259 2,715,384 8/1955 Meng 116137 2,730,067 1/ 1956 Schaufler 116-137 2,804,042 8/ 1957 Gavreau 116l37 2,874,909 2/ 1959 Pallman 24128 2,959,561 11/1960 Kelley. 3,020,102 2/ 1962 Becker 30877 3,076,610 2/1963 Rosenfeld et a1. 241-28 3,081,979 3/ 1963 Lindsey 2591 3,089,458 5/1963 Dory 116-447 3,096,080 7/1963 Willems 259-1 3,169,013 2/1965 Jones 2594 3,176.964 4/ 1965 Cottell et al. 2591 LOUIS J. CAPOZI, Primary Examiner. 

1. A LIQUID WHISTLE OF THE JET-BLADE TYPE COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: (A) A DISC SHAPED ELEMENT HAVING A CENTRAL AXIAL OPENING, AT LEAST ONE OPENING IN ITS PERIPHERY SHAPED TO FORM A JET ORIFICE WHEN LIQUID IS FORCED THERETHROUGH AND ORIENTED SO THAT THE OPENING CAN PRODUCE A JET AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE AXIS OF THE DISC, THE ELEMENT HAVING INTERNAL CONDUITS FROM THE AXIAL OPENING TO EACH OPENING FORMING A JET ORIFICE, (B) MEANS FOR CONNECTING THE AXIAL OPENING OF THE ELEMENT TO A SOURCE OF LIQUID MEDIUM UNDER PRESSURE, AND (C) A SECOND ELEMENT ROTATABLE ABOUT THE AXIS OF THE DISC SHAPED ELEMENT AND ADJACENT THERETO, SAID SECOND ELEMENT HAVING A PLURALITY OF BLADES FORMING A RIGIDLY CONNECTED WHOLE THEREWITH, THE EDGES OF THE BLADES BEING RADIALLY ALIGNED WITH THE OPENING OF THE FIRST ELEMENT AND POSITIONED SO THAT ON ROTATION THE EDGES OF SAID BLADES MOVE THROUGH JETS PRODUCED FROM THE OPENINGS OF THE FIRST ELEMENT IN A DIRECTION COUNTER TO THE JETS FROM THE OPENINGS IN THE FIRST ELEMENT WHEREBY THE VELOCITY OF JET BLADE COLLISION IS INCREASED OVER JET VELOCITY, AND (D) MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID SECOND ELEMENT IN A DIRECTION TO MOVE THE BLADE EDGES COUNTER TO THE MOTION OF JETS PRODUCED FROM THE ORIFICES OF THE FIRST ELEMENT. 